Share this with

A nightmare collapse by Australian
Adam Scott over the final holes of the Open on Sunday saw
Ernie Els claim the Claret Jug for the first time in a decade.

Ernie Els (centre) shakes hands with runner-up Adam Scott after his dramatic win in The Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes. (Picture; Getty)

Scott, who led the tournament by four shots with only four holes to play, hit a run of bogeys on Royal Lytham’s inward stretch, handing a fourth major title to the South African without the need for a play-off.It is the first major title the 42-year-old, the same age as last year’s winner Darren Clarke , has won for ten years and came minutes after he had made a stunning 15-foot birdie putt on the final green.Scott, whose caddie Steve Williams won 13 majors with Tiger Woods , was on the verge of becoming golf’s tenth successive first time winner in the majors before his meltdown.

And while playing the 17th, Scott could not have failed to hear the roar of the crowd – the loudest for a week – for ‘Big Easy’ Els’ final-green putt for a 68 and seven-under-par aggregate of 273.Scott, having stood 11 under earlier in the day, signed for a 75 and six under. ‘It was a very sloppy finish by me,’ admitted the 32-year-old. ‘I played so well all week.‘I know I’ve let a really great chance slip through my fingers today, but somehow I’ll look back and take the positives from it.‘I’ve never really been in this position, so I’ll have to wait and see how I feel when I wake up tomorrow. Maybe it hasn’t sunk in yet. Maybe there will be a bit more disappointment when I get home and wind down. It’s all a lot to digest.’Tiger Woods, who also finished poorly in addition to taking a triple bogey, tied for third with fellow American Brandt Snedeker three shots further back, while Scott’s playing partner Graeme McDowell ended up in joint fifth alongside English world No.1 Luke Donald.Speaking after the win, Nick Faldo predicted the outcome would hit Scott – who blew his chance to become the first Australian to hold the Claret Jug aloft since Greg Norman in 1993 – incredibly hard when its magnitude sinks in.‘Well done Ernie Els but Adam Scott is going to be scarred for life,’ Faldo said.